Baggage Claim
by Teen-Idol
Summary: You never know where you can meet the girl of your dreams. (One-shot)


I've** had this idea in my mind for a few months now and I really wanted to finally get it out. I also thought it was about time to work on my one-shot writing skills again. So I hope this isn't as bad as I think it is.**

Baggage Claim

"Flight 426D to Miami, Florida is now boarding."

The blonde sighs as he rises from his seat in the waiting area, grabbing his luggage and joining the huge crowd of people lining up at the gate.

Time for a weekend of hell.

Going to his younger brother's wedding was bad enough. But being the best man and showing up dateless, was worse.

It made him completely defenseless against his family's harsh criticism and he was definitely not looking forward to the disapproving glares he would receive all weekend from everyone since he still was not in a serious relationship and was nowhere near close to settling down.

Let the fun begin, right?

In all honesty, he didn't see what was so bad about not having a genuine girlfriend at his age.

It wasn't his fault that all he had experienced in his high school days were countless flings and one-night stands.

His brother never even talked to any females, but lo and behold, he just had to find "the one" in college, while Austin couldn't maintain any stable relationships. His longest barely lasted two weeks.

He just had very high expectations and desires for the girl of his dreams, and so far, no one had met them. They were either too clingy or had no aspirations for their future.

Austin was the CEO of his deceased father's advertising company, so could you really blame him for wanting someone who had as serious professional dreams as he had?

Exactly.

He had been in control of the company since he had graduated college, a pretty heavy burden on someone who was only twenty-two years old and still figuring out who he was.

Three years later and Austin still hadn't figured out that last part yet. He had easily adjusted to the work ethic and responsibilities he held as CEO. That was no problem.

The real trouble began explaining to his mother on their weekly phone calls why he hadn't found a suitable girlfriend yet.

"I know Trish; I'm boarding the plane now so I have to go. We'll finish talking when I land, okay?"

Austin glanced behind him at the petite brunette struggling to hold her carry-on bag, while clutching her phone to her ear and boarding pass under her arm. She looked as if she was about to collapse from all of the weight she was carrying.

"Here let me help you." The gentlemanly side of him instantly took over as he reached her side, taking the bag. He hadn't taken etiquette lessons all those years ago for nothing.

"Thank you." She said graciously, before averting her attention back to her conversation. "… No Trish, I wasn't talking to you. Someone just offered me a hand, which I wouldn't need if you would just let me hang up."

Austin chuckled at this and the brunette met his eyes, her cheeks becoming slightly rosy.

"Does that even matter, Trish? …...Okay. Fine. Yes he's cute, but that really doesn't matter."

The blonde's eyebrows rose at this and the brunette only blushed profusely, looking down.

"I really got to go. I'm sure your latest job escapade can wait …. Okay, seriously the flight attendants are glaring at me … Bye." She laughed awkwardly, removing her phone from her ear and shoving it into the front pocket of her jeans.

"I'm pretty sure we're not on the plane yet." The blonde quipped.

"Oh shut up. If you were me, you would've done the same thing. Trish doesn't know when to stop talking."

"Point taken."

The brunette laughed again, this time genuinely. "You like making witty remarks, don't you?"

"Only to get a laugh out of pretty girls like you."

"Getting romantic now, aren't we?"

"Just trying my luck." Austin shrugged. "Besides, if I recall correctly, you were the one who called me cute just moments ago."

"I ... but ... oh, shut up." She rolled her eyes, flustered. "Leave it to any guy to let being called cute get to their heads. You know, I only said that to make her stop talking."

"Offensive." Austin placed his right hand over his heart.

"Don't worry; I'm sure you'll live."

"Says you."

"Are you always this interesting to be around?"

"It depends." The blonde smirked. "Do you like interesting?"

"Of course you would go there."

"You gave me no choice."

"You always have a choice as to what to do or say." The brunette retorted.

"Something tells me you've never lost an argument before."

"Smart boy, you catch on fast." She ruffled his hair as if he were a dog.

"Hey! Watch the hair! I need it to stay intact for my brother's wedding."

"And something tells _**me**_ that you're really not that excited to go."

"What gave it away? The drooping sarcasm? The lack of emotion?"

"It can't be that bad." The brunette replied.

"Because being criticized by all of my relatives all weekend due to the fact that I still haven't found a longtime girlfriend when my younger brother is getting married, is my cup of tea."

"Oh." She hissed. "Definitely a bummer. But I know how you feel. I'm flying home to visit my parents and my mom hasn't stopped pestering me to settle down with a good guy. It's not my fault all of the men I've met so far have been douche bags and only wanted to get in my pants."

"I'm sorry to hear that. But don't worry, not all guys are douches. You'll find the right one soon enough."

"Thanks." She smiled. "And I'm sure you'll get yourself a great girl one day to show your family."

* * *

><p>A moment of silence fell between them as they slowly edged closer along the line to the entrance of the gate.<p>

"Thanks again for taking my bag; you don't have to hold it anymore. I can take it." The brunette said, after apparently realizing that he was still holding it.

"It's fine. Let me take it to your seat for you." Austin shrugged.

"You don't have to."

"Well too late, because I am."

"Why am I getting the sense that you don't like taking no for an answer?" She remarked.

"Because it's true." He gave her a lopsided grin.

She rolled her eyes, but he could see her trying to hold back a smile.

"You know, I just realized that I don't even know your name." Austin pointed out.

"And why does that matter?"

"I want to know what to tell my family when I talk to them about you."

"So you're going to mention meeting me to your family?" The brunette questioned. "I'm sorry, but I think that we are moving way too fast. I want this to be strictly platonic. We just met like five minutes ago, after all."

"Who knows where this will go?" He countered.

"You seem so sure of yourself."

"Maybe because I am." He retorted.

"Says you."

"Offensive." The blonde feigned hurt yet again, placing his free hand on his chest.

"I'm sure you're big ego will recover soon enough."

"You still haven't supplied me with your name."

"Fine, if it's so important to you, it's Ally."

"Austin." He held out his hand, while agreeing to himself that he liked her name. It was easy on the tongue; simple, yet beautiful, just like her.

Ally rolled her eyes but shook it anyway.

"Now that we've got that barrier out of the way, tell me, what brings you to Miami from New York?"

"Why does that matter to you?"

"Well, I need some background information to tell my family."

"You're really taking this seriously aren't you?"

"Hey, bringing girls home is a serious thing, especially if it's out of the blue."

"And what makes you think you're actually going to bring me to meet your family? For all you know, I might have my own business to attend to in Miami. Why don't you tell me why _**you're**_ coming to Florida, since you're so interested in my life story?"

"To answer your first question, something tells me I will. And as for the second one, I'm just visiting my family in Miami. I haven't seen them in a few months because I've been preoccupied with work." Austin replied.

"What do you work as?"

"Look who's getting curious now." He teased. "And, I'm the CEO of my father's company, Moon Advertising."

"Wow, that's really good for you."

"Thank you. It's just been a little hard since he passed away. He never got a chance to teach me all of the ropes and I have to figure everything out as I go along."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. I'm sure you're doing a great job. He's probably really proud of you."

"Thanks Ally. That means a lot. Now do you care to tell me what you do and why you are going to Miami?"

"I'm visiting my family too, since it is Spring Break. And I'm currently attending New York University School of Medicine."

"So you want to be a doctor? That's really amazing!"

"Thanks. My parents are really supportive, but it's hard because I rarely get to see them, you know?"

"Same here. It was bad enough when my father owned the company. Back then, it was stationed in Miami and he was still always preoccupied with work. But then he moved it to New York after we, my brother and I, graduated high school and once he found out I wanted to go into corporate too. I took the company over once I graduated NYIT and automatically became CEO. The only negative thing is the fact that I can barely make any time to call my mom or even visit Miami."

"Well at least we're both going to see our families now, right?"

"Yea." Austin smiled, actually forgetting about the horrendous weekend he had ahead of him. "Where's your seat?" He asked, realizing that they had already stepped foot on the plane.

"Oh right. It's 32A."

"That's right next to me! We get to be seat buddies!"

"I get to spend more time with you? Oh joy."

"Hey! I'm not that bad. I mean, we've already been talking for some time now and it hasn't been awful."

"Uh-huh. Keep telling yourself that." The brunette patted his head and continued walking down the aisle to their row, which was luckily, by the window.

Austin couldn't help but smile as he observed her ambling ahead. She was pretty, witty, and had high hopes and dreams. Where had she been his entire life?

"Oh, by the way, I'm taking the window seat." She turned around and stuck her tongue out at him, running ahead quickly.

Yup, she was definitely a catch.

And luckily for him, he had a three hour flight to win her heart. **(A/N: 10.13.14 Thank you to the guest who pointed out my mistake. Don't worry, you weren't being mean and I appreciate your help.)**

* * *

><p>Austin opened his eyes, a big yawn escaping his mouth as he adjusted to his surroundings. He was about to stretch his arms when he noticed the weight on his right shoulder and looked down, a smile appearing on his face when he saw the sleeping brunette leaning her head against him.<p>

She looked so peaceful snoring gently, her chest rising gently. She was even beautiful when she was asleep.

"You should hang on to her." Austin looked up to see an elderly lady passing them by.

"Huh?" He questioned, still a little groggy and unsure if he had heard her correctly.

"She's a keeper; I can see it in your eyes. You really love her."

He was about to protest and tell the woman how he had just met Ally and that they weren't anything. That there was no possible way in the world that he was already in love with her, having only met her a few hours previous.

But he decided otherwise, to save him of the burden of explaining the whole situation and the risk of Ally waking up during his explanation. "Yea, she is." He sighed deeply.

His mother had once told him to respect the words of the elderly, for they had experienced much more in their lives than he had and they noticed things that others didn't.

So if this lady could see that they had something special, who was he to deny her? Especially when he himself had already made up his mind. Ally **was** the girl for him.

She just didn't know it yet.

"I wish both of you the best." The woman nodded at him before proceeding down the aisle.

Austin had never been one to believe in all of that love at first sight garbage. He thought it was all pointless and silly. How could you fall in love with someone so easily, just by meeting them? It made no sense.

He always thought that you needed to at least know them a little better before accepting that you had real feelings for them.

That was probably one of the reasons none of his relationships lasted all that long. He had never been overly romantic in telling the girls he dated that he loved them, because he never hadn't.

Real feelings took time to come out. Or so he had thought, until he had met Ally.

He had only talked to her for a few minutes and he was already certain that he would never meet someone like her ever again.

She matched everything he ever wanted in a girl – smart, funny, motivated, hard-working, beautiful, and sweet.

She was definitely "the one" and he was unquestionably starting to believe in love at first sight, because it was happening in front of his very eyes, and to him, of all people.

"Attention passengers, we have landed. Please retrieve your belongings and prepare to leave the plane."

He must've missed the other announcements or he had been too zoned out to hear the news of their decline.

Austin felt the brunette stirring besides him and turned his attention back to her.

Ally opened her eyes and maneuvered her face to look at him. "Hey." She whispered, sleepily.

"Hi." He answered back, smiling.

"Oh, sorry." She sat up quickly. "I-."

"It's okay."

"Damn, this flight went by too fast." Ally pouted. "I didn't get enough sleep."

Austin laughed. "Come on. We should get our stuff ready." He stood up, along with the other passengers.

He retrieved her bag first, handing it to her before reaching for his own.

"Thanks." She smiled.

"Anytime." He shrugged, a pit forming in the bottom of his stomach at the possibility of never seeing her again. But he tried to pay no mind to the feeling, deciding to focus on his last few minutes in the brunette's presence.

"See, I told you I wasn't so bad." Austin stated as they followed the long line out.

"Sure." Ally replied and they both laughed, knowing that the flight really hadn't been all that horrible.

* * *

><p>They reached the gates of the airport, leading to luggage pick up and the arrivals area.<p>

"After you." The blonde motioned.

"Why, thank you." The brunette smiled brightly, walking ahead of him to the conveyor belt. "Such a gentleman."

"Anything for you."

She laughed again, a beautiful sound to his ears as it resonated off of the walls of the terminal.

The both of them were able to locate their bags and were soon strolling side by side, to where their families were awaiting them.

"So, I'll see you around?" Ally turned to face him suddenly.

"Definitely." He beamed.

"Thanks for being my seat buddy." She hit him on the arm playfully, before dropping her stuff to wrap her hands around his neck in a hug.

Austin dropped his own belongings in surprise, not expecting her to embrace him. But once his body finally registering what was going on, he snaked his arms around her torso snuggly, gently breathing in her scent of vanilla and lavender.

"Bye." Ally pulled away, planting a quick kiss on his cheek and recollecting her possessions, and striding away from him. She turned back once more to wave to him and then continued on her way.

Austin waved back to her, smiling as brightly as he could even though he felt his heart being tugged out of his chest as her departing figure became further and further away.

"Yo, Austin!" A voice snapped him out of his thoughts and he turned into the direction of running footsteps.

Before the blonde could even realize who the voice belonged to, he was being enveloped in a tight hug and he felt his feet being lifted off of the ground.

"Dez?" He questioned.

"That's how you greet your best friend after not seeing him for five months? Thank Austin. I woke up real early to meet you here for nothing. I know how you really feel now." The redhead pouted, putting him back down.

"I'm sorry Dez. I just have a lot on my mind. I met this really amazing girl on the plane ride and now, I may never see her again."

"You can always find someone better."

"But I won't. I can't. You don't get it Dez. She was the one. The girl of my dreams. And now she's going off to visit her family and that's the end of that."

"Don't say that buddy. If it's meant to be, it's meant to be." Dez patted him on the back. "Now come on. You're mom's going to kill me if we're late for your surprise welcome home dinner."

"Surprise welcome home dinner?" Austin questioned.

"Crap. Pretend you didn't hear that. And act surprised when we get to the house."

"Whatever." The blonde rolled his eyes, as he followed the lanky redhead, his suitcases in hand.

His foot kicked something in his way and he dropped his belongings, leaning down to pick it up. He had kicked a tiny purse, whose contents had gone sprawling around the linoleum floors. The book that fell from the bag caught his attention.

"Come on Austin! We don't have time to waste! Just leave whatever that is and let's get going!"

But Austin ignored him, his eyes enthralled in the worn, leather bound journal he held in his hands. A big red A was sewn onto the center. He slowly opened it up, hoping to find some acknowledgement of the owner, to either find them, or give the journal, and the purse, to security.

He couldn't believe his eyes as they read over the first page.

_The property of Ally Dawson._

His heart skipped a beat, and his mouth opened widely, forming an O. It couldn't be possible. Fate couldn't be on his side, could it?

Apparently the answer was yes, because here Fate was granting him a miracle.

"Austin!" Dez whined impatiently. "Come on!"

"Dez." The blonde stood up, looking directly at the redhead. "It's hers."

"Hers?"

"The girl from the plane! It's hers, I know it! She must've dropped it on her way out!" Austin scrambled to shove everything back into the tiny red bag.

"Austin, what are you doing?!" Dez sighed, exasperated.

"Don't you know what this means?! This is my chance to see her again!"

"Come on man! Just give it to security and let's go!"

"Sorry Dez. But call my mom and tell her that we're going to be a little late for dinner." The blonde started dashing down the center of the airport.

"Austin! Where are you going?!" Dez called after him.

"To get the girl of my dreams!" He answered, disappearing among the throng of people.

She couldn't have gotten so far away. Or so he hoped.

The airport was only so large, and he didn't know how close her ride had been parked.

But he didn't let those thoughts faze him. In fact, they pushed him forward.

He had been given another chance to see Ally and talk to her, and he wasn't going to let her slip between his fingers this time.

His heart swelled as he saw the familiar green jacket and tiny frame it hugged about to reach the exit.

"Ally!" He called out. "Ally, wait up!"

Miraculously, she heard him and she turned around, the raven-haired girl next to her turning around as well, both of them wearing expressions of confusion.

"Ally." Austin caught up to her out of breath, panting heavily.

"Austin, what are you doing here?" The brunette asked incredulously.

"I found your purse and I wanted to give it back." He handed her the red bag.

"Oh my god! Thank you so much! I would've died if I lost this!" Ally wrapped he arms around his neck again. "Thank you!"

"You're welcome." He chuckled, pulling away.

"Thank you so much."

"Anytime."

"So, I'll see you around?"

"Um, wait!" He called out, sounding rather unmanly, as he panicked, not wanting to lose her again and gathering up the courage to actually say what he wanted to.

"Yea?" She questioned.

"I ….. um ... was wondering …. if you had any plans this weekend?"

"What for?" Ally questioned, her eyes twinkling.

"Well I sort of have this wedding to go to and I need a date, since I'm the best man and all. You know, I wasn't kidding when I said I wanted to bring you home to my family." He paused. "So, what do you say?"

"I was waiting for you to ask that." She beamed, walking back up to him and planting her lips on his.

_Yup_, Austin thought as he kissed her back with vigor.

Maybe his brother's wedding wouldn't be so bad after all.

* * *

><p><strong>Yea …. I really don't know what to say about this.<strong>

**Was it bad? I'm really sorry if it was.**

**Also, I've never been on an airplane before, so excuse any mistakes or inconsistencies. I'd be happy to learn of any corrections I could do to make this more accurate.**

**And I promise to try to update at least one of my stories by Tuesday, to get your minds off of this train wreck.**


End file.
